Because this topic has been rehashed repeatedly in many places and because the group was one dedicated to skepticism, I gave a snarky, off-the-cuff remark: "Sadly, 'organic' is another largely marketing term at which we must roll our eyes for the foreseeable future." There may well be agricultural benefits from the production of organic produce, but as the article indicates, there is no established health benefit from it.
Yet another member of the group has evident strong feelings that there are benefits to organic food production. He posted the result of another study advocating for organic produce and clings to the belief in its health benefits. That study did conclude that there may be an "average increase[] in life expectancy of 17 days for women and 25 days for men" from the consumption of organic food. Such a result is inconclusive for at least two reasons: Is it really possible for people to consume only organic food and if not, how does that affect this outcome? Over a 70 year life span (25,550 days) 25 days is only 0.1% of that time — is that enough to justify the expense?
Answering these questions and deciding to pay the premium for "organic" produce requires us to make a choice. That choice is necessarily guided by an imperfect understanding of the issues for most of us. I am not an expert in chemistry, agriculture, and nutrition. As such, I must rely on the data presented in common news sources and must make the best decision I can from that information.
Skepticism to me means being able to apply a toolkit of critical thinking skills to those common news sources. Applying those skills to the organic issue leads to more questions embodied by this scenario: Given two bags of rolled oats from the Whole Foods bulk bins, one organic and one not, can a consumer identify which is which? Will the consumer obtain more nutrition from the former? Will the consumer be harmed by the later? The answers to these questions are no, no, and no.
So in order for me to choose organic, the proponent is going to have to overcome a fundamental principle of skepticism:
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. —Carl SaganThis means the onus is the the claimant, not me, to make the case. Skepticism does not mean giving equal time to every argument about every issue. It means being able to select the issues and evaluate them critically.
And that is why I am a skeptic. I want to think I can be persuaded by fact and not emotion when it comes to important decisions about my life. Yet I don't want to be duped into spending my time, money, and attention on invaluable theories, products, and services. When it is proven that organic products are better, I will take up the mantra. Until them, I'm saving my cash.
